15/04/2024

Innovation Week 2024

By Ministry of Education

Joseph Schumpeter, the father of innovation, as far back as 1919, defined innovation as the introduction of ‘new production processes, new products, new materials or resources, new markets, and new competitive organizational forms.  Yes, innovation was a concept worthy of exploration more than a century ago.  And it is just as relevant today as it was then.   Simply put, innovation is really a process of discovering new and creative means, to introduce fresh, value-adding experiences to our daily lives.   When innovation is successful, it revolutionizes the economic structure of countries, through the continued creation of new processes, new systems, new goods and services. 

The conception of new structures however, can only stem from creativity – the use of imagination or original ideas.  It is the ability to use information, material, skills to produce something that didn’t exist before.  In education parlance, creativity is greatest of the higher order thinking skills according to Bloom's cognitive domain taxonomy.

Therefore, by virtue of its name the genre of Creative Arts is populated by individuals who continuously produce new or original work which allow the society to feel, think, reflect, analyze and appreciate itself on an individualized or collectivized level. 

In preparation for this year’s Innovation week, I spent some time with contributors to the creative arts and got a better understanding of their processes.  I needed to get a first hand feel for what our creatives experience as they navigate the complexities of designing a product to fulfill a need the fashion and festival market. 

I wanted to feel the emotions that went into the production of rhythms and songs that express the mood and psyche of our society.

And to further partake in the translation of that music into the movement and performances that we can all participate in for enjoyment and expression.

It is amazing watching the creation of a visual representation of our thoughts or reflections of our society. 

These experiences have led me to a space of self-reflection and self-discovery and I am even more deeply appreciative of the acts of creativity, the innovation displayed by those I encountered.   I better understand the role that we all can play, recognizing that we all have creative skills that can be applied to whatever areas we chose.   I too will be delving deeper into my creative self.   The juxtaposition of this reflection and these experiences against this year’s theme, has given me an even greater appreciation for the call to action, ‘Spark your creativity, Accelerate your impact.”

I therefore, invite you to join the Department of Innovation this week, in showing appreciation to our creative sector, while simultaneously discovering your creativity. 

Given that the colour orange representatives creativity and innovation, I ask all Saint Lucians to proudly wear the orange on Friday April 19, in recognition of the 9th Sustainable Development Goal  - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Everyone is invited to the Annual National Symposium on Creativity and Innovation, to be held on that same day, 19th April, from 9 am at the Constitution Park in Castries.

Just over a month ago, collectively as a country, we recommitted to moving “Douvan Ansanm: Building a Nation, through Unity, Resilience and Creativity.” In our forty-fifth year of independence, as proud Saint Lucians, let's all use our creativity to accelerate our impact as we celebrate World Creativity and Innovation Day. 

I thank you.